From the Chief Joe to the National Show

Lexability Highlights Appaloosa Versatility

Meet Kristin Livingston and Lexability (Galaxy), the stars of our next feature for first time competitors at the Appaloosa National Show.  Kristin and Galaxy have a fun story to share.

Kristin is a long-time horse person.  She told us that as a little girl she would get in trouble for going into the neighbor’s pasture and trying to ride their horses.  She has been riding for most of her life.  Kristin is also an art teacher and an artist which feeds her love of the Appaloosa horse.  For her they are a work of art.  The vast array of colors and coat patterns speak to her.  She is partial to the bling! 

Kristin bought Galaxy at 7 months old from Wes Tillison in Alabama.  In 2019, when Galaxy was a four-year-old, Kristin decided to take him on the Chief Joseph Trail Ride. They had never done this before and he was the youngest horse on the ride.  Kristin told us that it was an adventure to get there.  They were gone for about three weeks and clocked around 5000 miles on the road in a trip full of blown tires and some stressful moments.  For her, it was all worth it to be on the ride which was through a gorgeous part of Idaho.  That year, the ride was 113 miles, and it was a challenge for them.  The ride asked a lot of the horses and Galaxy dealt with everything like a champ. 

After the Chief Joseph Trail Ride, Kristin decided she wanted to have a horse that could do both the trail ride and show at a National Level so she started to work to find out what events he might excel at in the show pen.  She met Ashley Mann who is a trainer at Remley Equestrian Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and started to board there and take lessons. 

With the help of Ashley, they determined that the jumping events were Galaxy’s forte.  Kristin thought it best to let Ashley take the reins for these events.  Galaxy has only been shown a handful of times on the AHSA circuit and is still rather green.  This year’s National Show is the first Appaloosa show for Galaxy as well as Ashley. 

Ashley, an instructor at Remley Equestrian Center as well as their IHSA coach, showed Galaxy in the hunter hack and jumping classes at this year’s show.  Galaxy joins a very small number of horses who have both successfully ridden the Chief Joseph Trail ride as well as competed at the National show. 

Kristin funded her trip to this year’s nationals with her artwork.  She made and sold 100 ornaments to help fund the horse show. 

We look forward to hearing about Galaxy, Kristin and Ashley’s continued success in the hunter jumper pen in the future.